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GraniteGeekNH t1_je5eutb wrote

Tidal / wave power is the renewable equivalent of small modular nuclear reactors - perfectly good idea that has never worked in practice and probably never will because of cost (maintaining equipment in moving salt water is beyond a nightmare)

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costabius t1_je5nnlc wrote

I think the biggest problem is people thinking of it like a water version of solar power. Waves and tides are everywhere so just toss out some generators and soak up the free electricity. The engineering problems and maintenance requirements mean there are a tiny number of viable sites for tidal power.

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No_Landscape4557 t1_je9e4lb wrote

I can only imagine the absolute shit storm that would arise for someone proposing tidal power.

It will “ruin” fishing industry, it will forever destroy our little coastal town. “Don’t use our town for your profit” , it will destroy our ocean habitat and so on and so on.

Yea I bet like OP wrote, CMP is utterly terrified of tidal power.

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Sufficient_Risk1684 t1_je5rtke wrote

And even if you did get a working system, an area with sea ice in the winter would probably destroy it.

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costabius t1_je6e93f wrote

That's an engineering challenge, either you design around the problem or that eliminates another set of potential generation locations.

Sea ice isn't insurmountable, you can submerge generators underneath it, but that needs a system that is self-contained and doesn't require maintenance in the winter. Probably not a solution for grid connections, but small scale for powering beacons or research tasks.

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salvelinustrout t1_je9ahyd wrote

And unlike with conventional hydro dams where the point of entry for the water powering the turbine is (relatively) small and feasible to keep clear of debris, no tidal generators have been designed yet that aren’t pretty easily fucked by a single submerged log or other significant piece of jetsam.

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lucidlilacdream t1_je6nhm1 wrote

There are tidal power stations currently in use, so it does work in practice.

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phineas81 t1_je8cgdg wrote

What’s the cost/kwh? Solar in Maine is about 13 cents, which is about twice the national average, but still pretty darn good. I have a 5kw roof and rarely get an electric bill.

I’m not opposed to tidal at all, btw. I support a diverse energy portfolio, but the economics have to make sense or it’ll never get off the ground.

Decentralized energy production is the future, I think. Well, I hope it is anyway.

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GraniteGeekNH t1_je9xrlp wrote

It does work, you're right - maintenance is the issue. That's the cost problem.

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the_wookie_of_maine t1_je66b7w wrote

Saltwater is part of the problem.

The other part is marine life, from slicing fish to barnacles inhabiting everywhere. The maintenance to keep a turbine/mounting system clear would be huge.

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Alphatron1 t1_je7l4in wrote

I don’t want Southland tales to become a reality

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Vexans t1_je6yosu wrote

I would also imagine the personnel time/safety concerns are pretty high and marine environment for this kind of project as well.

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